Kensington and Chelsea campaigners hope to re-instate controversial cycle lane

By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter

Campaigners hope to take Kensington and Chelsea council to court and force it to re-install a controversial cycle lane.

The ‘Better Streets for Kensington and Chelsea’ campaigners argue that the mile-long Kensington High Street cycle lane was removed “unlawfully” in early December.

Its installation, seven weeks before it was removed, came at a cost of £320,000.

The council defended its actions by citing complaints from businesses along the High Street that parking and deliveries had become more difficult, and that congestion had got worse.

But on January 8, council leader Elizabeth Campbell announced that a review will be carried out into how the decision was made, and that the cabinet will discuss its officers’ findings on March 17.

Ms Campbell said: “I know the depth of feeling on both sides of this issue, so it is important we make the time to consider this further and understand how the council can be a leader in all forms of active and sustainable travel.”

This week, Better Streets volunteer Justin Abott, himself a lawyer and cyclist, said his colleagues had “no choice” but to challenge the council.

“It was literally the only cycle lane in the borough. Now there’s none. How can that be sustainable?” said Mr Abbott, from Holland Park.

“The process around the decision making was so obviously bad.

“We tried repeatedly to encourage K&C [the council] to pause the removal but it went unheeded.

“Even the following day, after we had no reply, we sent our first letter about the potential judicial review [a court challenge]. But that didn’t stop them, so we had no choice.”

He also argued that the increase in traffic along the High Street should have been blamed on roadworks in Campden Hill Road and Kensington Church Street.

The Better Streets group instructed the Environmental Law Foundation to send a pre-action letter to the council – a first step towards launching a court challenge.

They say Ms Campbell’s announcement, that the issue will be reviewed, was in direct response to their pre-action letter.

Mr Abbott added: “We think the judicial review might have the outcome of making them put the cycle lane back in because they had made an unlawful decision.”

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the cycle lane was that it was segregated from the carriageway using bollards, or “wands”, rather than only using painted lanes.

On December 1, the day before the cycle lane was removed, local residents told us traffic had got worse since the lane was installed.

Joeness Amara-Bangali, 50, from Notting Hill, said police and ambulances were being delayed by the High Street.

Matt Clawson, a florist at Kensington Flower Corner, said: “The problem hasn’t been overstated. This road is always bad, but the cycle lane has made it worse.”

However, the cycle lane won the backing of teachers and parents from Fox Primary School and Imperial College London.